9 Incredible Holiday Gifts For Fans of Adult Beverages

Liquor companies have again pulled out all the stops to get you to buy swanky gift sets this holiday season.

Each year, the industry’s biggest producers—including Diageo and Pernod Ricard—as well as smaller upstart brands, come up with innovative, wild, opulent gifts that can be paired with their brands. On this year’s list, we’ve even got a bourbon-kissed denim jacket, as well as a watch, a “whiskey wheel,” and a copper gnome. The idea is that shoppers will be enticed by some unique sets and partnerships, rather than just buy a simple bottle of vodka or whiskey.

The Distilled Spirits Council has estimated that around 40% of the industry’s nearly $72 billion in retail sales occur in the final three months of the year. That jolt is attributed to gift giving around the holidays. Champagne and wine producers, as well as some brewers, also see increased sales in the final months of the year.

Here are nine new gift ideas for the adults on your shopping list.

Jim Beam Original Grain Watch

photo by Beam Suntory

Jim Beam partnered with Original Grain Inc. to make just 500 hand-crafted watches, which use authentic Oak Jim Beam bourbon barrels. The pieces—individually numbered #1 through #500—come in a box kit that also includes a branded flask and Italian leather band: $500, originalgrain.com.

Basil Hayden’s Bourbon’s 2016 Sipping Companions collection

photo by knoxy knox knox photographics 2016

Basil Hayden is working with local arts to create a selection of six items that are meant to pair with a bottle of Basil Hayden’s (the liquor is shipped separately in cities that ReserveBar ships to). The various gift sets include a travel bag, bar cart, and candle set, but we especially love the “Whiskey Wheel”—which features a revolving tray of six glasses. Only 15 of those wheels are available for purchase: $469, Huckberry.com.

Elyx Copper Gnome

photo by Absolut Elyx

Absolut Elyx’s annual gift item this year is a copper gnome, which the company is calling “Felix.” Parent Pernod Ricard makes Absolut in Sweden and the gnome has ties to that region—called “Tomte” in Swedish, gnomes feature in folklore there and are strongly connected to the winter holiday season. Every gnome that Absolut Elyx sells will help provide 560 liters of water—one month’s supply—to someone in need: $144, reservebar.com.

Crown Royal Vanilla

photo by Diageo

Crown Royal Vanilla, available for the first time this holiday season, seems like the perfect fit for the season. Diageo suggests mixing it with sodas (for a vanilla twist on the ‘hard soda’ alcohol trend), as well as classic cocktails like the Vanilla Old Fashioned or the Vanilla Hot Toddy. Crown Royal Vanilla is also sold with a cream-colored bag and box—that packaging is the signature that Crown Royal is known for: $24.99, totalwine.com.

Jameson Trilogy

David Norton & Ronnie Norton of DN Design

Jameson whiskey is one of Pernod Ricard’s biggest brands and despite the size, it continues to sell strongly. Annual sales for the latest fiscal year jumped 12% by volume, as the world continues to fall in love with whiskey. This Irish whiskey gift set packages three Jameson expressions—Jameson Irish Caskmates, Jameson Irish Whiskey, and Jameson Select Reserve Black Barrel: $39.99 for three 200ml bottles, missionliquor.com.

Casamigos Tequila Gift Pack

Courtesy of Casamigos

If Academy Award winning actor George Clooney is to be believed, this box of tequila is a tasty treat for the holidays. Yes, the Oscar winner is one of the owners of Casamigos—he shares ownership with Mike Meldman and Rander Gerber (the latter is the husband of model Cindy Crawford). Casamigos has been a fast-growing tequila, benefiting from consumer interest in smaller brands that are viewed as “craft.” Sets range between $34.99 to $54.99 http://www.philippeliquorsnyc.com.

Bulleit and Noble Denim Jacket

Courtesy of Diageo

This item is not consumable but still includes a form of whiskey. The denim jean jacket, made by Noble Denim, was actually aged in Bulleit bourbon barrels, and is available in limited quantities online and at the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience in Louisville beginning in mid-November. Noble and Bulleit owner Diageo have partnered before: they made barrel aged jeans two years ago: $285, nobledenim.com.

Highland Park Fire Edition

Courtesy of Highland Park

Highland Park is releasing only 28,000 bottles of this edition of the brand’s single malt Scotch whisky—and just around 4,400 bottles will be made available in the U.S. market. It is a 15-year-old single malt that was bottled at 45.2% ABV and Highland Park says the beverage itself has aromas of red fruits and vanilla, as well as some cinnamon and dark chocolate: $300, highlandpark.co.uk.

Kerrygold Irish Cream

Courtesy of Kerrygold

The Kerrygold brand, which is owned by about 14,000 Irish dairy farmers, is launching an Irish Cream Liqueur in the beginning of December. The item will be a mix of Irish dairy cream, real chocolate and aged Irish whiskey. The beverage is already winning some praise: it was declared the World’s Best Cream Liqueur at the World Drink Awards. $24.99, Kerrygoldirishcream.com.

Jim Beam’s “Apple Watch” Might Be Better than Apple’s

Sometimes even the most cautious journalist must abandon their objectivity and speak from the heart. Now is such a moment—I cannot but stand upon my soapbox, and declare the Jim Beam Apple Watch the Greatest Product Ever.

What are the features of this fantastic creation, you ask? Well, it has a green-striped adjustable tweed strap, and a knob, which is also green, though (and I quote the company) the knob serves no purpose.

The Jim Beam Apple Watch doesn’t have wi-fi, Bluetooth, a screen, a fitness tracker, or the ability to tell time, unlike the smartwatch made by Apple, Inc.. But it makes up for those shortcomings—and some of the most seasoned tech watchers would no doubt argue, more than makes up for them—by featuring a built-in, collapsible shot glass.

So, okay, this isn’t an “Apple Watch” in the way you might think. Beam’s frankly genius marketers were presumably able to get way with the similar name thanks to Jim Beam Apple, a new flavored whiskey. So it’s a Jim Beam Apple watch, not a Jim Beam Apple Watch. Get it?

In all seriousness, pouring a shot may genuinely be both more enjoyable and more productive than wearing an actual Apple Watch. Because while the latter may help you lose weight, it may also make you more hyperactive and distracted.

Using the Jim Beam Apple Watch, by contrast, has a marked relaxing effect. As the company puts it, instead of a watch that tells time, “we’ve created a watch that helps you make time.” Time to do things like form deep and lasting bonds with co-workers and friends.

Though those could, of course, include bonds of shared guilt and shame. Please use your watch responsibly.

For more on cutting-edge technology, watch our video.

On the business end, while the non-Jim Beam Apple Watch is widely believed to have somewhat underperformed since its introduction, the Jim Beam Apple Watch has clearly already achieved its goal—which is to get articles like the one you’re reading written about Jim Beam.

Should you wish to own this marvel of branding, you may be out of luck—while it was briefly available for $17.99, the Jim Beam Apple Watch apparently sold out in 3 hours.

Matthew McConaughey’s New Role: Pitching Wild Turkey

Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey has got a new starring role. He’s a new pitchman for bourbon brand Wild Turkey.

Wild Turkey on Monday announced McConaughey will serve as “creative director” for the brand, a role that will see him direct and star in a series of television and digital ad campaigns to help propel Wild Turkey to new heights. The multiyear deal, The New York Timespoints out, goes beyond a traditional sales pitch. In this case, the famous actor is more closely uniting his own personal brand with that of Wild Turkey’s, including recording music for the upcoming September campaign.

“Wild Turkey has the history and qualities of a brand that depicts the dedication of someone to do something their own way – even if that way isn’t always the most popular,” McConaughey said in a prepared statement. “I want to help share their unique story.”

In a preview of what’s to come, Wild Turkey and McConaughey released a six-minute short film about the beginnings of the project. In the film, McConaughey says the family behind the Wild Turkey brand—the Russells—approached him “a few years ago” to be the celebrity spokesman for the brand. McConaughey said he liked the idea, but he didn’t just want to be face of the campaign, but have more control over the project.

The ties with McConaughey are an interesting move for the Russell family, which has controlled the brand’s direction for 62 years. Three generations Russells are currently steering the brand, led by master distiller Jimmy Russell. He and his family been the brand’s visionaries even after Wild Turkey was sold by Pernod Ricard in 2009 for $575 million to Italian liquor giant Gruppo Campari. Since then, Campari has invested heavily in the brand, including building a $50 million distillery to greatly boost production.

Melanie Batchelor, vice president of global marketing at Campari, said there were a few parallels between McConaughey and the Russell family. She lauded the natural chemistry, which began back in 2014 when the actor first met the bourbon-making family.

“Jimmy has strong convictions. He is someone who has never changed a recipe that is the same since he joined 62 years ago. He’s seen a lot of trends come and go but has stuck to his individual choices,” Batchelor said. “That’s where we saw the parallel. Matthew has made a lot of individual choices in his career as well.”

Here’s the Real Reason You’ve Been Seeing Negronis Everywhere

The admiration seems to go both ways. “I found a story here in Kentucky. I found a story here in the Russells. And found a story here in Wild Turkey that I think deserves to be told,” McConaughey said in the preview film.

The ad campaign with McConaughey comes at a time when demand for bourbon has increased in the U.S. and in many markets abroad. Wild Turkeygrew by 8.8% for the latest full-year results released by Campari, boosted by demand for the traditional Wild Turkey and greater interest in the honey variation.

Like many liquor companies, Campari leans on celebrities to boost recognition for its brands. The parent company issues a yearly Campari calendar that each year generates a lot of interest among lifestyle publications and the alcohol press. Past participants have included actresses Kate Hudson, Eva Green and Uma Thurman. But those relationships are often the traditional role of a celebrity spokesperson. Wild Turkey is clearly hoping to get more out of their ties with McConaughey.

Jack Daniel’s Maker Debuts First New Bourbon in 20 Years

Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel’s and Woodford reserve whiskeys, is making a bigger bet on the scorching demand for bourbon as it plans to launch a new brand this summer.

The launch of Coopers’ Craft will be the first new bourbon brand developed by Brown-Forman since it launched the pricy Woodford Reserve 20 years ago. The family-controlled Brown-Forman, which has been in the business of bottling bourbon for nearly 150 years, said Coopers’ Craft would retail at about $29 for a 750ML bottle. At 82.2 proof, Coopers’ Craft packs a stronger punch than Brown-Forman’s Jack Daniel’s black label, but is not as strong as sibling brands Woodford Reserve and Old Forester.

The debut of a new bourbon brand indicates Brown-Forman is making a bigger bet on whiskeys at a time when Americans and drinkers in key foreign markets like Germany and Australia are being lured by the category away from vodka and other competing alcoholic beverage rivals. At Brown-Forman, for example, sales of super and ultra-premium whiskey brands jumped in the mid-teens on a percentage basis for the first nine months of the current fiscal year. That greatly outperformed Finlandia vodka (down 5%) and El Jimador tequila (up only 4%).

The new whiskey’s name is a nod to the barrel-making history at Brown-Forman, as the company operates its own barrel-making facility known as the Cooperage. By aging whiskey in barrels, the spirit draws in the wood for the beverage’s color and some key tasting notes.

The launch of Coopers’ Craft also represents a pivot to focus more on pure bourbon brands. That comes shortly after Brown-Forman earlier this year unloaded the struggling liqueur brand Southern Comfort in a deal that amounts to $543.5 million.

Here’s why Pappy Van Winkle bourbon just got harder to find

If you need a good example of just how rabid fans of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon are: A bottle recently sold on eBay for more than $300.

The bottle was empty.

Pappy Van Winkle has a problem any alcohol brand would love to have: It generates an incredible amount of hype as a rare, yet must-have, American whiskey. Roughly 7,000 bottles hit the market each fall, a sweet spot that observers say is just enough volume to generate real interest, but not enough to flood the market.

As a result, the bourbon—produced at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Kentucky under a joint venture with the Van Winkle family—immediately sells out to fans who turn to websites and apps to find a bottle. Liquor stores that get Pappy generally get only one or two with lines forming outside stores the day the bourbon goes on sale. And then there are the secondary markets, which can drastically drive up prices.

“They are totally the standout celebrity,” says Reid Mitenbuler, author of Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey.

But this week, Pappy aficionados got some dreadful news. Buffalo Trace warned that Van Winkle barrels yielded less whiskey than normal for 2015.

“The result is less 15 year-old Pappy Van Winkle than usual, and far less 20 year-old and 23 year-old,” Kris Comstock, Buffalo Trace’s bourbon marketing director said in a prepared statement. “Frankly, about half as much as last year.” Those bottles are priced between $80 and $250 each, though the secondary market will surely fetch a much higher price. A bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 23-year released last year is currently listed at $2,700 on one reseller’s website.

Whiskeys that feature age statements must be filled with liquid that is at least as old as the “youngest” drop of alcohol inside. So a 15-year whiskey can contain alcohol that has actually been aged longer, but it must all be at least 15 years old. That means Pappy could theoretically use older whiskey if needed, but if it were to pull from barrels earmarked for future 20- and 23-year bottles, the company said a shortage would occur down the road.

Since Pappy Van Winkle’s rarity is already the stuff of legend, Fortune had to ask Comstock how bona fide this current shortage really is. He promises that it’s a legitimate problem.

“Demand is already outrageous, and we can sell twice as much if we had it,” Comstock says. He points out that Pappy is not raising its prices, a point whiskey observers say is fair. And Pappy doesn’t benefit from the higher prices on the secondary market.

Mitenbuler says Pappy is in a difficult spot. On one hand, the distiller wants to communicate the shortage issue to loyal customers to let them know it will be hard to find a bottle. At the same time, this type of press statement can’t help but increase the brand’s hype.

Pappy Van Winkle wasn’t always a difficult whiskey to find. As recently as 10 years ago, bottles could be found collecting dust on local liquor shelves. It became an “It” brand after several notable celebrity chefs and whiskey lovers began to tout it as a must-have whiskey for any collector’s home bar. Pappy has also rode the wave of the increased interest in bourbon over the past several years.

If you need further proof of the outsized demand for Pappy Van Winkle, consider the scene at WhiskyFest 2015, a high-profile event in Manhattan that featured 41 brands including Johnnie Walker, Suntory, Jack Daniel’s, and The Glenlivet. The Pappy booth was the only one with a line, which remained constant throughout the evening. It was also the only booth that had security.

Of course all this hype begs the question: Is Pappy Van Winkle really that good?

Fred Minnick, author of Bourbon Curious: A Simple Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker, didn’t want to be among the bandwagoneers, but while judging the 2013 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, he found himself especially allured by one whiskey that ended up winning best bourbon. Sure enough, it was Pappy Van Winkle 15-year-old.

“I was really hoping it wasn’t Pappy, even though I thought the whiskey was the best,” says Minnick, recalling the competition. “When it was unveiled, I was like, ‘Shit, I just contributed to the hype.’ The thing is—it is a really, really good bourbon.”

Declining U.S. vodka sales are bad news for Absolut brand

As cocktail culture continues to grow in the U.S., so does the alcohol market; unfortunately for Pernod Ricard SA, owners of Absolut, millennials’ tastes are shifting from vodka to bourbon.

This change has not yet affected the company’s profits, as it’s expected to post a 7.9% increase in sales and a 30% increase in net income on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reports. It helps that the company owns various alcohol brands aside from Absolute, including Jameson Irish whiskey and Martell cognac.

Liquor analyst Trevor Stirling tells the Journal that this shift away from vodka is “not universal gloom and doom, but they’re in a tough situation.”

Between 2010 and 2014, vodka consumption declined almost 2%. In the same period, whiskey sales rose 2.7%, and American bourbon and Tennessee whiskey both climbed nearly 17%. In the U.S. alone vodka sales went down 0.3%, whiskey went up 2.7%, and American bourbon and Tennessee whiskey rose 7.4%.

Half of Pernod’s U.S. sales come from Absolut, sales volumes of which declined 3.3% last quarter.

Diageo PLC is currently the world’s top liquor company. If Pernod wants to surpass Diageo, it’ll have to “find more pours in the high-value U.S. market” either by reinventing the Absolut brand, which Stirling says can take between three and five years, or via acquisitions.

“The liquor store is a saturated environment, so we need to truly stand out in order to reach new consumers and educate shoppers on bourbon,” Michelle Cater, senior director of commercial marketing at Beam Suntory, says. “Based on our research, we know that new bourbon drinkers are eager to learn more about what makes bourbon unique. With augmented reality technology, we are able to engage shoppers in an immersive and interesting way.”

“The Bourbon Revival” is designed to work with any smartphone. Customers download the BlippAR app and use it to scan AR codes on retail displays and bourbon bottles. The app can unlock 3D content that appears through a user’s smartphone camera like a hologram. The launch action syncs the bourbon bottle with the movement of the smartphone, allowing the user to interact with the bottle and the liquid inside, build cocktails, and try out recipes.

The main objective of this marketing initiative is to introduce consumers to Maker’s 46, Knob Creek, and Basil Hayden’s bourbon. The AR experience includes Bourbon 101, which explores the history of bourbon, how bourbon is made, and information about bourbon vs. whiskey. It also offers a Bourbon Matchmaker, which pairs the correct bourbon based on one’s drinking and flavor preferences.

Cater says AR technology is like a “magic lens that unlocks astonishing and rewarding content from the physical world simply by viewing through a device.” This connects well with Beam Suntory’s consumer demographic of 28- to 45-year-olds, almost all of whom own a smartphone and many of whom are interested in using apps while shopping.

“So much of a consumer’s day is spent on their phone,” Cater says. “Through smartphones, we are able to engage with consumers, not only offering relevant content, but also connecting with them directly in a two-way dialogue.”

The company hopes this type of interaction leads to an increase in customers and bottles sold. According to research firm IBISWorld, Beam Suntory owns 16.4% of the $2.4 billion U.S. whiskey and bourbon industry.

This $400 bourbon gift set comes with….shoes?

When it comes to thinking of gift packages, a high-end bourbon and made-to-order shoe wouldn’t seem to go hand in hand (or in this case, feet). But that hasn’t stopped Basil Hayden’s small batch bourbon whiskey and Quoddy’s leather footwear from partnering for the upcoming holiday season – announcing a pricy gift set well ahead of the shopping season.

Typically, liquor companies spend much of the fall months announcing quirky holiday gift sets or fancy limited edition bottles to lure shoppers. Media pitches often start in September, with products debuting in November and December.

Basil Hayden’s, a small but popular whiskey brand owned by Beam Suntory, announced it is working with Quoddy shoes to sell just 100 gift sets priced at $400. The sets include a pair of custom made, co-branded Basil Hayden/Quoddy shoes, a leather gift box, and four glasses that are wrapped in the same leather that are used to make the shoes. The sets will debut on Huckberry.com in November.

“The brands are rooted in the same beginnings and have stayed true to them today,” Rob Nelson, a senior brand manager at spirits maker Beam Suntory, told Fortune. “Dedication to craftsmanship – whether in the spirits world or production of shoes.”

Holiday gift sets are a well-established ploy by liquor makers to sell more of their beverages. And it is important to stand out in the final three months of the year when an estimated 40% of the nearly $70 billion in retail sales occur.

Basil Hayden’s is coming into the holiday season from a position of strength. Sales soared 71% in 2014 from the prior year according to Chicago-based market research firm IRI, building on strong, double digits gains in recent years as more Americans favor brown spirits like Basil Hayden’s and drink less vodka and beer. Basil Hayden’s sales are even strong relative to other whiskey brands. Premium priced bourbons and Tennessee whiskeys posted a sales increase of 19% in 2014, according to industry advocate the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Basil far outpaced that growth.

That brings us back to the partnership. The real unanswered question is: why pair bourbon with shoes?

Nelson explains some of the rationale. He says it goes back to the history of the brands. Both are crafted in the U.S. (the bourbon is made in Kentucky, the shoes are built in Maine). And he claims to a certain group of consumers there is a willingness to pay a premium for unique consumer goods with a strong heritage story to share.

“You get a pair of your drinking shoes on that say something about yourself and you have a bottle of well-crafted bourbon that is going to say something about your interest in spirits as well,” Nelson said.

Jim Beam is using virtual reality to make you think you’re a shot of bourbon

At sampling events across the U.S, consumers 21 and over can take a virtual reality ride from the perspective of Jim Beam bourbon being made, as part of an on-going 2015 promotion for Jim Beam’s new Devil’s Cut Bourbon.

“There is quite a bit of crossover between our target demographic and technology early adopters, which is one of the reasons VR was a perfect fit,” says Rachel Harris, commercial marketing director at Beam Suntory BEAM.

According to Harris, virtual reality allows the company to offer a digital experience that can’t be replicated through traditional sampling efforts, or even through enhanced video technology. Harris says the goal was to cut through the clutter in bars and help Devil’s Cut stand out among the crowded bourbon category, and to allow consumers to not only taste the product, but learn the ins and outs of how it’s made.

Rather than viewing a 360-degree VR video distillery tour like Patrón used for its tequila VR experience, consumers take a roller coaster-like ride from the perspective of Jim Beam’s bourbon. They start in the pipes of the bourbon still, traveling through a rack house, a flaming barrel lid, into a barrel and eventually, being poured into a shot glass. When users take off the VR headset, the virtual shot glass has become a real shot glass with a sample ready for them to drink.

“These days, it’s so important to be able to explain how the product is made—in an engaging way—whether you have 5 minutes or 5 seconds with a consumer,” Harris says. There are more than 750 events planned for 2015 in 16 markets and 250 bars, with each venue having one or two Samsung Gear VR headsets, according to Harris.

Experiential agency Geometry Global worked with mobile app development company Bottle Rocket to develop the experience with help from Samsung SSNLF. From concept to final app development, the entire project took approximately eight months to complete.

Harris believes one reason her brand and Patrón have embraced VR early is because today’s consumers are surrounded by technology and it’s an integral part of their daily lives. As a result, consumers’ needs and desires around brand engagement have changed. She says they are looking for brands that can be integrated into their daily lives.

“VR allows brands to leverage technology to engage with consumers in a dynamic and impactful way unlike any they have ever had before,” Harris says. “Consumers at these events have literally run back to grab their friends to tell them they have to experience it.”

How to sip a $1,000 Kentucky Derby mint julep

Kentucky Derby fans will be able to splurge on $1,000 mint juleps at the races on Saturday. That’s $45 for each sip — if they drink the bourbon cocktail according to the instructions outlined by whiskey expert Chris Morris.

A Louisville, KY. native, Morris is one of the nation’s top authorities on the American-made spirit. His parents worked for Brown-Forman Brown-Forman BFB, the company that makes Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester whiskies. Surrounded by bourbon his entire life, Morris is now Woodford Reserve’s master distiller, meaning he is responsible for maintaining the quality and consistency of the aged spirit. And according to Morris, there’s a formula to how to drink a mint julep.

First, he recommends using a straw rather than sipping from a cup or glass. Straws help mix the drink’s sugar and mint.

“Every time you sip, you are actually mixing the drink fresh,” Morris says. “And I have practiced, believe me. You should have at least 22 sips before your julep runs dry.”

At that speed, a julep should last about an hour, which is the typical amount of time between races at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Mint juleps are, of course, synonymous with the Kentucky Derby, the historic thoroughbred race and annual kick-off to the Triple Crown series.

Churchill Downs sells nearly 120,000 mint juleps during the weekend. This year, most of those juleps will be made with Brown-Forman’s Old Forester, priced at $11 each.

But patrons will also be able to pay $1,000 for one of 100 metal cups made with Woodford Reserve, to benefit the Wounded Warrior Equestrian Program. Brown-Forman is selling two expensive versions of the cups this year: a pewter version costs an extra $1,000 while a sterling silver and gold-plated cup goes for $2,500.

The high priced cocktails have sold out almost every year Brown-Forman has sold them at the Derby. It goes with the race’s fancy image, which includes a public decked out in big hats along with suits and dresses adorned in key lime, ocean blue and bright pinks.

Here’s what you would need to make the drink: two ounces of Woodford Reserve bourbon, one ounce of water, one teaspoon of sugar and four sprigs of fresh mint. Directions on how to make this classic cocktail, if you are looking to mix up the drink at home this weekend, can be found here.

Though the julep has strong roots with the South dating back to the 1800s, it wasn’t the “official” drink of the Kentucky Derby until 1938. Along with the Manhattan and the old fashioned, experts say the mint julep is one of America’s most recognizable cocktails. It can also be a challenging drink to master.

“The big bugaboo about mint juleps is if you don’t like the way it was made, it can put you off,” Morris says. He advises mixologists to ask customers a few questions to get the drink just right for their tastes. How sweet do they want it and how much mint would they like?

Morris changes the recipe for the $1,000 version each year. This time around, he’ll use a chocolate mint. In the past, it was lemon mint or peppermint. He’s also mixed tried different sugars over the years.

Morris and his team spent nine months thinking about what the classic julep will belike for this year’s Kentucky Derby. They set out to customize the drink without straying too far from what the mint julep should taste like. Morris, who has been a master distiller for 11 years, says it can be a fun part of his job.